Mid-term elections 2018: Democrat wins tight Arizona race – By BBC Newsroom (bbc.com) / Nov 13 2018
The US state of Arizona has elected its first female senator, after Democrat Kyrsten Sinema beat Republican Martha McSally in a tight race.
Ms Sinema is the southern state’s first Democratic senator since 1994.
The win narrows the Republican majority to four seats (51-47), with two more Senate races remaining unresolved.
In Florida, a recount has been ordered by law after unofficial results fell within a 0.5% margin. Mississippi will hold a run-off vote later this month.
What happened in Arizona?
With almost all the votes counted, Ms Sinema had a lead of 1.7% over her rival. She takes the seat vacated by Jeff Flake, a frequent critic of Mr Trump.
Ms Sinema, 42, later addressed her cheering supporters in Scottsdale, near Phoenix, speaking of the urgent need to heal the bitter political rancour dividing Americans.
She paid tribute to the memory of the late John McCain, who also represented Arizona in the Senate until his death earlier this year, saying he had set a shining example of how to put national interests above party political ones.
“Senator McCain is irreplaceable,” she said, “but his example will guide our next steps forward. He taught us to always assume the best in others, to seek compromise instead of sowing division, and to always put country ahead of party.”
Republican Ms McSally, a 52-year-old former combat fighter pilot, conceded defeat.
In a video message posted on Twitter, she said: “I just called Kyrsten Sinema and congratulated her on becoming Arizona’s first female senator after a hard-fought battle.”
Congrats to @kyrstensinema. I wish her success. I’m grateful to all those who supported me in this journey. I’m inspired by Arizonans’ spirit and our state’s best days are ahead of us. pic.twitter.com/tw0uKgi3oO
— Martha McSally (@MarthaMcSallyAZ) November 13, 2018
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46190111
